Europe Day 2024: The need for a paradigm shift for the EU

On the occasion of Europe Day on the 9 May, some reflections from my part on the necessary paradigm shift for the EU in the dangerous geopolitical landscape we are now living in, between the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the war in the Middle East

“World peace cannot be safeguarded without creative efforts proportionate to the dangers that threaten it”.

These were the opening words of Robert Schuman’s declaration on 9 May 1950, which paved the way for the European Union. Thanks to the dynamic launched at that time, deadly battlefields have been replaced by meeting rooms and bloody conflict by cooperation and compromise between European countries. However, 74 years later, as Europe commemorates this visionary moment, multiple conflicts threaten peace again in our neighbourhood. We need to engage in new creative efforts and decisive action. In Europe and on a global scale.

Power politics is back

We, Europeans, had long hoped that international trade, creating closer links between peoples and nations, would secure lasting global peace. However, this hopeful illusion did not stand the test of reality. Power politics is back. The world is becoming more multipolar and less multilateral. From trade to investment, from information to migration, all types of interaction are being weaponised and global competition has escalated into confrontation. Once again, world peace is seriously threatened. Profound changes are needed in the EU to deal with this dangerous geopolitical landscape.

Two years ago, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has brought back to Europe the first high-intensity inter-state war since 1945. Under Putin’s leadership, Russia has returned to the imperialist understanding of the world of the Tsar and the Soviet times. Putin’s war of choice is creating an existential threat to the EU. Should he succeed in destroying Ukrainian independence and install a puppet regime in Kyiv, he would not stop there. He has already repeatedly declared its opposition to the core values of freedom and democracy on which our Union is based.

Russia’s war of aggression is not only threatening the EU but world peace.

Should such a flagrant violation of the core principles of the United Nations charter succeed, it would signal to more powerful nation everywhere that they too could impose their will on weaker neighbours. This would mark the end of an international system based on norms. That is the reason why the vast majority of countries stood repeatedly with Ukraine in the United Nations General Assembly in condemning this brutal aggression.

However, despite this condemnation, despite our support to Ukraine and our ability to end our excessive dependency on Russia’s fossil fuels, Russia is still continuing its war of aggression. Putin’s autocratic regime has silenced any opposition and mobilised all the resources of its economy in the service of its war benefitting also the support of other authoritarian regimes. And Russia’s forces are currently putting a lot of pressure on the Ukrainian lines in the Donbas, escalating attacks against railway infrastructure, energy grids, dams, and also gas storages. Cities like Kharkiv and Odesa – that I visited a few months ago – are constantly shelled with ballistic missiles and drones.

The decisions we take to support Ukraine, just like the postponement of such decisions, have consequences. For Ukraine and for us.

It happens because Ukraine lacks air defence and artillery ammunition. The decisions we take to support Ukraine, just like the postponement of such decisions, have consequences – now and tomorrow, for Ukraine and for us. The military aid finally passed by the US Congress was much needed. It should arrive at the front line in the coming days. But there is no reason for complacency for the EU: we still have to do our part. Several initiatives by EU Member States are underway but each day counts: our ability to deliver missiles, artillery ammunition and air defence systems more massively and quickly to Ukraine is a matter of life and death for thousands of Ukrainian civilians and military personnel.

Put security and defence at the centre of European politics

Beyond this immediate urgency, this deteriorated geopolitical context imposes a paradigm shift for Europe: we need to put security and defence at the centre of European politics. The legacy of the Schuman Declaration was that our Union has been built around the internal market and the economy. And this has worked well to bring peace between the peoples of the Union. But we have for too long delegated our external security to the US. We must assume now our strategic responsibility and become able to defend Europe by ourselves, building a strong European pillar inside NATO.

We must assume now our strategic responsibility and become able to defend Europe by ourselves, building a strong European pillar inside NATO.

We need to invest more in defence at the national level. In 2023, we have spent on average 1.7% of our GDP, this percentage must increase to more than 2%. But, even more importantly, we need to spend more together to fill gaps, avoid duplications, and increase interoperability. Only 18% of equipment purchases by our armies are currently made cooperatively. Even though we set a 35% benchmark in 2007. And since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, European armies bought 78% of new equipment from outside the EU.

A quantum leap in European defence and defence industry

We need a quantum leap in both our defence capabilities and our defence industry. Every European must understand that effective defence is a prerequisite for the future of our social, environmental, and democratic model. We have begun to move in this direction but much more efforts will be needed in the coming months.

In the meantime, in the Middle East, Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October triggered a wave of violence that still risks spreading throughout the entire region. Despite more then 34,000 lives lost and almost 2 million people displaced and surviving in appalling conditions in Gaza, even the UN Security Council resolution of last 25 March demanding an “immediate cease fire for the month of Ramadan” was not obeyed, a failure for the entire international community.

High time to overcome our divisions on the war in the Middle East

As EU, we could have the means to weigh on the actors of this tragedy. We are the first international aid provider to the Palestinian people and the foremost partner of Israel in trade, investment and personal exchanges. Our association agreement with Israel is the more comprehensive of all. However, we have been too divided to be able to influence the actors. It is high time to overcome these divisions and act decisively to put an end to the hostilities, release the hostages and start the political process to finally implement the two-state solution – the only way to bring lasting peace to the region.

This is essential not only to preserve human lives and peace in the region, avoiding the potentially disastrous consequences for Europe of the pursuit and extension of the conflict, but also to fight the ‘double standards’ narrative used against us with some success by Russian propaganda in many parts of the world. If we are not able to help bring peace in the Middle East, we risk losing global support, especially on Ukraine.

If we are not able to help bring peace in the Middle East, we risk losing global support, especially on Ukraine.

We are also witnessing conflicts in many other regions threatening the lives and basic human rights of millions. Often, the same actors fan the flames in other parts of the world and on the fringes of Europe.

The urgent need to reform the multilateral system

This deteriorating geopolitical context is making the world less cooperative and more transactional, precisely when we would need more trust and cooperation to face major global challenges, like the triple crisis of climate change, loss of biodiversity, and inequality. As the EU, we have always strongly supported multilateralism and the United Nations system. The work of UN agencies is irreplaceable in Gaza and elsewhere, and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has consistently been a voice of reason in recent months.

However, the effectiveness of the multilateral system has been eroded recently by many vetoes, and its legitimacy weakened by an insufficient representation of the diversity of today’s world. Profound reforms are needed. The UN Summit for the Future in September must be the first stage in this necessary overhaul.

The next European elections, a defining moment for our common future

The next European elections in a few weeks will be a defining moment for our common future. It is a critical occasion for European citizens to discuss the current foreign and security policy issues and define the future global role of Europe they want. For the European project to survive, it has to be able to overcome the geopolitical, economic and democratic challenges we are facing. Europeans need to have the sense of urgency required to be up to the task.